Shashikala, who was popular for her 'vamp' roles and won the Filmfare award for Best Supporting Actress twice in succession, died at home in Mumbai.
Our Correspondent
Veteran Hindi film actress Shashikala died at her home in Colaba, Mumbai, today. She was 88. The cause of death has not been revealed yet.
Born Shashikala Jawalkar in Solapur in the erstwhile Bombay Presidency on 4 August 1932, the actress began her career at a young age in the 1940s, supporting her family in Mumbai. She continued to appear in films and television shows into the new millennium.
Shashikala worked her way up in cinema, starting with bit roles and song appearances in early films like Zeenat (1945) and Jugnu (1947), both starring Noorjehan.
She eventually graduated to supporting roles in films like Teen Batti Char Raasta (1953), Jeewan Jyoti (1953), Nau Do Gyarah (1957), Bimal Roy’s Sujata (1959), Junglee (1961) and Aarti (1962) where she received her first Filmfare award for Best Supporting Actress.
She followed it up with a win the very next year for her performance in BR Chopra’s Gumrah (1963), where, like in Aarti, she played a negative role. Shashikala would go on to play the vamp or negative character in many other films in her career, even as she moved on to playing mother and grandmother.
She acted in films like Himalay Ki Godmein (1965), Waqt (1965), Anupama (1966), Phool Aur Patthar (1966), Rahgir (1969), Chhoti Bahu (1971), Khubsoorat (1980), Arjun (1985), Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001) and Mujhse Shaadi Karogi (2004).
Shashikala married Om Prakash Saigal and had two daughters. She received the Padma Shri from the government of India in 2007 and the Lifetime Achievement award at the V Shantaram Awards in 2009.
Correction: An earlier version of the report stated that Shashikala is survived by her daughters. Her elder daughter died many years ago of cancer.
Related topics
Indian cinema
